Publication of Red List 2020 of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan

The Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ), complied the fourth Red List (list of endangered and threatened wildlife species) in FY2012. Since FY2015, MOEJ has been updating the Red List for species that require the reconsideration of the categories (ranks) due to deterioration of their habitat conditions or other reasons, on an irregular basis as necessary. MOEJ hereby announces that the MOEJ Red List 2020 has been prepared as the fifth revision of the fourth MOEJ Red List. MOEJ reviewed the categories of 74 species, and the number of threatened species increased by 40 species to 3,716 in total. In addition, MOEJ prepared the "Ministry of the Environment Japan Red List 2020 Addendum" which explains the reasons for the assessment of the above 74 species and their habitat status.
 
1. Red List of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan
 The MOEJ Red List (a list of endangered and threatened wildlife species) is a list of wildlife species that inhabit or grow in Japan that has been scientifically and objectively evaluated from a biological perspective by an expert committee which evaluates the extinction risk of individual species.
Although inclusion in the Red List itself does not have any direct legal effect, such as restricting hunting, the Red List is intended to serve as a tool for widely disseminating information to remind people of extinction risks and to be used for various purposes.
The assessment for the MOEJ Red List is conducted by a committee of experts specialized for each taxonomic group. The Red List contains a total of 13 taxa.
Animal Groups:(1) Mammals, (2) Birds, (3) Reptiles, (4) Amphibians, (5) Brackish and fresh water fishes, (6) Insects, (7) Mollusks and (8) invertebrates (except insects and mollusks).
Plant groups: (9) Vascular Plants, (10) Bryophytes, (11) Algae, (12) Lichens, and (13) Fungi.
 
○ Category Outline

Extinct (EX)	Species considered to be extinct in Japan
Extinct in the Wild (EW)	Species known only to survive in captivity, in cultivation, or  in a wild state clearly outside their natural distribution range
Threatened I (CR+EN)	Endangered species
Threatened IA (Critically Endangered (CR))	Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the very near future
Threatened IB (Endangered (EN))	Not as severe as Threatened IA, but at high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.
Threatened Ⅱ (Vulnerable (VU))	Species at increasing risk of extinction
Near Threatened (NT)	A species at low risk of extinction at present, but may transition to Threatened categories depending on changes in habitat conditions.
Data Deficient (DD）	Species for which sufficient data are not available for assessment
Threatened Local Population (LP)	Locally isolated population with a high probability of extinction

 
2. MOEJ Red List 2020
For the MOEJ Red List 2020, categories were reviewed for a total of 74 species in 11 of the 13 taxonomic groups. Attachment 1 shows a table of the total number of species (including subspecies) in the 13 taxa included in the MOEJ Red List 2020. A list of species reviewed for the MOEJ Red List 2020 is contained in Attachment 2, while a list of all species included in the MOEJ Red List 2020 by taxonomic group is as shown in Attachment 3.
 
The background of the Red List review to date and the review system are shown in Reference 1, detailed definitions of the Red List categories are shown in Reference 2, and the basic conditions for species to be evaluated are shown in Reference 3.In addition, an old/new comparison table (in Japanese alphabetical order) of categories since the MOEJ Red List 2015 is shown in Reference 4.
The total number of endangered species in 13 taxonomic groups on the Red List 2020 is 3,716, up 40 species from 3,676 on the Red List 2019. Bringing the total number of endangered species selected by MOEJ to 3,772, including 56 threatened species on the Marine Life Red List, published in March 2017.
 
3. MOEJ Red List 2020 Addendum
　“MOEJ Red List 2020 Addendum” (Attachment 4) explains basic information on the species reassessed (morphology, habitat status, range), changes in their habitat conditions and the reasons to review as needed for a total of 74 species: newly added 41 species, category-reviewed 28 species, and deleted five species from the MOEJ Red List.
　
  The Red List 2020 is expected to serve as useful basic information to promote the conservation of threatened wildlife, in combination with the Red Data Book 2014 for different taxonomic groups and the addendum documents published upon the past reassessment projects.
 
4. How to get a copy of MOEJ Red List 2020
 
The MOEJ Red List 2020 is available to the general public. You can get a copy in any of the following ways:

• Downloadable from this website

(If you don’t have access to the Internet :)

• Visit the Office for Conservation of Endangered Species, Wildlife Division, Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

Please contact the Office before visiting, or you may have to wait to receive a copy.

• By post. Send an A4-size return envelope to the address below. Please affix a 390-yen postage stamp (Japan domestic delivery postage) and write your name and address on the envelope. The Office will send a printed copy of Attachment 3.

   

Office for Conservation of Endangered Species, Wildlife Division, Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, Japan   26F, Central Government Building No. 5 1-2-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan 100-8975